The present invention relates to a tray for supporting multiple input devices, such as a keyboard and a mouse, on substantially a common plane and for accommodating both left-handed and right-handed people.
Current keyboard/mouse trays have an upper surface for supporting a keyboard and a lower surface for supporting a mouse. The mouse supporting surface generally extends out from the keyboard tray at a level beneath the keyboard upper surface. Usually, the lower surface extends out from beneath or from a chamber within the keyboard tray. For example, as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,743 issued to the inventor, a keyboard tray has a relatively flat mouse tray that slides out from a chamber within the keyboard tray.
Specifically, the keyboard tray of the ""743 patent is rigidly secured to a keyboard tray supporting arm which is articulately mounted relatively to a desk upon which is supported a conventional personal computer (PC). The keyboard tray provides a relatively flat mouse tray in slidable relationship thereto. The keyboard tray is constructed from two pieces of compression molded, injection molded, vacuum molded or like formed polymeric/copolymeric synthetic plastic material which when united along a periphery thereof define upper and lower walls and a peripheral wall therebetween. The peripheral wall includes spaced opposite side wall portions each of which has a slot.
The peripheral wall maintains the upper and lower walls in generally spaced relationship and defines therebetween a relatively flat chamber. It is within the flat chamber that the relatively flat mouse tray is slidably housed with each of opposite side edges thereof being disposed generally adjacent the slots of the keyboard tray when the mouse tray is substantially housed within the flat chamber.
The mouse tray can be slid either to the left or to the right, as viewed from the perspective of the user thereof, such that opposite side edge portions and the upper surface thereof can alternately project beyond the slots and movably support thereupon a mouse while the associated keyboard is supported atop the upper wall of the keyboard tray. In this fashion a user can utilize an associated keyboard during the support thereof by the keyboard tray and can also manipulate a mouse associated with the personal computer upon either the left-hand or right-hand upper surface of the mouse tray.
The mouse tray includes a projection for limiting the sliding movement thereof to the left and/or the right which assures that a limited predetermined area of the mouse tray can be slid either to the left or to the right which is sufficient to accommodate manipulation of the mouse, yet the exposure is not so large as to create an imbalance or undesired leverage should, for example, the user heavily rest his/her arm upon the exposed side edge portion of the tray which might tend to break the same or torque the keyboard tray sufficiently to break it away from the articulated mounting arm or at a minimum loosen the fastenings (generally screws) between the keyboard tray and the articulated mounting arm.
The upper surface of the mouse tray has a relatively shallow recess in which is adhesively adhered a sheet of material having an upper surface of a high coefficient of friction which reduces mouse slippage and/or inadvertent mouse movement.
Prior art related to keyboards, keyboard trays, wrist rests and the like are reflected in the following U.S. patents:
Taslitz U.S. Design Pat. No. 347,422 Issued: May 31, 1994
Vaule U.S. Design Pat. No. 352,933 Issued: Nov. 20, 1994
Juster U.S. Design Pat. No. 352,934 Issued: Nov. 29, 1994
Dickerson U.S. Design Pat. No. 356,785 Issued: Mar. 28, 1995
Gart U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,165 Issued: Aug. 29, 1989
Connor U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,630 Issued: Nov. 24, 1992
Nash U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,835 Issued: Nov. 30, 1993
Thomsen U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,888 Issued: Aug. 9, 1994
Martin U.S. Pat. No. 5,340,067 Issued: Aug. 23, 1994
Kaneko U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,445 Issued: May 9, 1995
Rice U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,407 Issued: Jul. 18, 1995
This disclosure is directed to a keyboard/mouse tray particularly adapted for supporting multiple input devices, for example, a computer keyboard and an associated mouse, on substantially the same planar surface for both left-hand and right-hand usage. The keyboard/mouse tray (hereinafter xe2x80x9ctrayxe2x80x9d) is formed as a base and slide member. Both the base and slide member can be made of compression molded, injection molded or like molded polymeric/copolymeric synthetic materials or from sheets of milled material, such as polymeric/copolymeric synthetic plastic material, wood, metal or composites thereof. The slidable member is disposed in a groove opening upwardly through a top surface and end-wise outwardly of opposite end surfaces of the base.
The slidable member preferably includes at each of opposite ends thereof a stop carried by a bottom surface of the slidable member. The stops limit outward sliding movement of the slidable member relative to the base groove.
A mounting plate is affixed to or molded as an integral bottom portion of the base and functions to provide sufficient material to achieve the efficient purchase or grip of screws which unite the tray to an end of an associated conventional articulated or fixed tray supporting arm. An opposite end of the tray supporting arm is generally attached to a desk, a table or other support structure.
With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.